Climate Piloting Opportunities
The Trust for Governors Island offers unique opportunities for innovators to test early-stage climate products and services in a real-world environment. Selected piloting projects utilize Governors Island’s built, social, and natural environments – including a 2.2-mile waterfront, 43-acre climate resilient park, 7 miles of car-free streets, and 50+ historic buildings – to accelerate climate innovation, economic opportunity, and social impact in diverse urban communities.
All piloting projects on Governors Island address climate change through climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and/or environmental justice. Projects must be temporary and be supporting product development and deployment through real-world testing and solutions validation.
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Key Dates
Applications to the 2025 Climate Solutions Challenge (theme: Circular Economy) were due on December 5, 2024. General Application projects are considered on a rolling basis.
- Receive access to a project site for 3 to 12 months with no fee, as well as technical support from the Trust as the sole owner and operator of eligible sites.
- Collect data in a real-world environment while also engaging with funders, investors, and prospective customers.
- Bring your climate solution to a high visibility public place with nearly 1M annual visitors.
Scroll to the bottom of this page and click "Apply Now." You will need to crate a Submittable account in order to submit an application. You will be prompted to select one of the following opportunities when you apply:
- Apply to the annual Climate Solutions Challenge: Win a $10,000 prize and access to supplemental grants generally not to exceed $20,000 to support project design and deployment. All program funding is non-dilutive and grant amounts will be based on demonstrated need. Selected teams can access opportunities with the Trust’s network of climate partners, including the New York Climate Exchange, regulatory agencies, and content area experts such as Closed Loop Partners. Applications for the 2025 Climate Solutions Challenge (Circular Economy) were due on December 5, 2024.
- Submit a General Application on your own schedule: A year-round rolling application is open to all climate sectors. Project teams are responsible for all costs.
- Applicants must be incorporated as a legal entity and must be working on urban climate solutions (e.g., hardware, software, materials research, policy, or innovative business and financing models).
- Project teams should identify a critical milestone that requires a temporary pilot site to support product development and deployment.
- Startups and young companies, including those led by underrepresented founders, are encouraged to apply. Preference will be given to companies with 50 employees or fewer.
Problem:
New Yorkers produce nearly 4 million tons of residential waste and another 4 million tons of commercial waste every year. More than half of New York City’s solid waste consists of construction and demolition materials. Today, NYC diverts about 20 percent of solid waste from landfills and has committed to send zero waste to landfills by 2030. This waste stream drives greenhouse gas emissions across its life cycle, from the extraction of raw materials to its transportation and disposal. Waste transfer stations in many cities are in located in environmental justice communities, contributing to longstanding air pollution. Shifting to a circular economy that reuses, refurbishes, and recovers all kinds of materials, reduces waste trucking, and minimizes landfill waste and embodied carbon is key to achieving an equitable, net-zero city.
Challenge:
How can circular economy products and solutions drive down the climate impact of the urban waste stream and extend resource recovery to our businesses and neighborhoods?
Innovation Tracks:
- Low-carbon and circular construction products, including healthy materials.
- Products using resources that are recovered from the urban waste stream.
- Products and services that reduce construction and demolition waste by extending the useful life of existing systems and making more efficient use of new materials.
- Measurement tools and services that accelerate diversion from landfill and reduce solid waste.
Webinars: November 7, 12, and 20, 2024
Site Tour: November 15, 2024
Click here to register for webinars and the optional site tour. Click here to download webinar presentation.
Apply For Permit
Apply For PermitFAQs
Have more questions before applying? Read through these FAQs, or check out our Rules and Regulations.
Climate piloting opportunities at Governors Island are not limited to startup companies. At a minimum, applicants must be incorporated as a legal entity (or affiliated with one – see next paragraph) and must be working on urban climate solutions. Preference will be given to proposals that demonstrate a clear path to leveraging the piloting opportunity to commercialize or scale their product or service.
Unincorporated applicants may partner with an organization to serve as the legal incorporated entity for the purposes of the proposal to the extent such entity is prepared to fulfill this role (inclusive of assuming license obligations such as providing insurance, committing to site restoration, etc.).
There is no geographic restriction on eligibility – teams based outside of New York City and the United States are eligible to apply. All teams must demonstrate their ability to meet the terms of the license agreement either directly or through a third party, including and not limited to site visits for design and scoping, on-site monitoring and maintenance, and public education requirements.
Applications to the General Application may be submitted year-round. Please select “General Application” in the application form.
No, project teams selected through the General Application are responsible for all project costs. Identifying and pursuing any sources of funding for a pilot are the sole responsibility of the applicant team, though the Trust may provide references or letters of support on a case-by-case basis and at its sole discretion.
Teams are not required to have deployed their product or service in a real-world setting. Teams should demonstrate their ability to meet all program terms as described in the license agreement, including the sample scope of work and insurance requirements.
Yes, teams may partner with other organizations active on the Island. Preference will be given to projects that can be located on Trust-controlled sites.
The Trust is open to collaborating on a range of project schedules for temporary piloting projects, within reason. Projects must be temporary, with a plan for removal at the end of the term. The Trust may consider renewals or extensions in its sole discretion, based on a demonstrated impact associated with the additional time (i.e. the testing of refined technology/processes, the need for additional data, etc.).
Teams are responsible for ensuring their project is in compliance with all legal requirements, including preparing their own permit applications as necessary. The Trust’s team of planners, architects, and engineers may (in the Trust’s discretion) offer technical support by reviewing applications.
Challenge winners will receive a $10,000 prize for their unrestricted use. For supplemental grants, eligible costs include tasks generally shown in Exhibit B of the license agreement. All program funding is non-dilutive.
After applications are submitted, interviews may be held with a subset of Applicants starting in December 2024 and January 2025. A site visit may be offered at the Trust’s discretion to explore feasibility and alignment, identify potential project sites, and inform a project workplan. The site visit will provide an opportunity to discuss additional information requests including but not limited to concurrent uses of the site, utility availability, and anticipated permits and approvals.
Following site visits and interviews, the Trust will request a project workplan and budget from selected applicants. Supplemental grants will be allocated across the entire cohort based on demonstrated need and funding availability.
Challenge winners will be notified starting in February 2025. Challenge winners and the Trust will aim to reach a signed license agreement (including evidence of approved insurance coverages) with the Trust for Governors Island by April 2025.
All prizes, grants, or other payments by the Trust will be issued according to the terms and schedule of the final executed license agreement.
The Site File, linked in the application, includes an overview of building and infrastructure systems on the Island to support preliminary site analysis. Applicants are welcome, but not required, to utilize this information to identify specific sites of interest in their proposal.
In the “Site Needs Assessment” section of the Application, applicants should indicate known site parameters, utility hookups, and data requests to assist the Trust in assessing feasibility and potential site selection. As part of the evaluation and selection process, a site visit may be offered at the Trust’s discretion to explore feasibility and alignment, identify potential project sites, and inform a project workplan.
Teams may submit additional data requests through the application, and the Trust will respond during the evaluation and selection process.
Yes, as per the Selection Criteria in the application, preference will be given to proposals that show understanding and make good use of promotional and public education opportunities, including for inclusive audiences. Refer to the license agreement for more information.
Governors Island ferries operate 7 days a week on a 30-minute interval during business hours. Vehicle permits are available from 7 to 9:30am on weekdays. The ferry can accommodate a range of vehicles and trucks. The maximum vehicle weight is 40 tons. Per the terms of the license, projects transporting vehicles to the Island are required to carry commercial liability insurance on those vehicles.
Yes, applicants may re-submit in a future cycle.
Real estate developers and prospective tenants should submit inquiries to realestate@govisland.org.
Any purchase or other contracting opportunities with the Trust will be at the Trust’s discretion and subject to the Trust’s procurement policies. For additional information on current Governors Island contracting opportunities, please refer to Business Opportunities at the Trust for Governors Island.
Advice and answers from the Submittable Team can be found here: https://submittable.help/en. If the technical issue will prevent you from submitting a draft application, reach out to climate@govisland.org before the application deadline to request an exception.
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